Are Electric Car Ranges Misleading?

Are Electric Car Ranges Misleading? How far will an EV actually cover on a full charge?

As reported in The Times  at the beginning of April 2023, some strong headlines were made about EVs - “Electric car makers are advertising exaggerated vehicle ranges … more than 70 electric vehicles shows that their actual range is early 20 per cent less”. Not only that, the newspaper further added that evidence is suggesting that up to 15% more power is required to full charge the car and therefore EVs are not quite as cost-effective as what consumers, businesses and salary sacrifice drivers are being led to believe.

Since Christmas 2022, we have noticed an almost overwhelming anti-EV rhetoric from most media and news outlets, with a focus on range, charging infrastructure and price. But is this really justified? Are UK customers really getting scammed by manufacturers, finance companies and leasing brokers like us?

When it comes to range, it does seem that the UK have become a little obsessed with gargantuan figures - “ I will get an electric car when they can do 400 miles on a full charge” springs to mind. We are often asked about stupendous range metrics becoming available from our customers without any rationale as to why they need this.

When approaching your EV, one of the starting points is to ask yourself “how many miles do I travel per year / per month / per week” so you can qualify as accurately as possible. For example, the average mileage for most UK drivers is around 8,000 per annum, which equates to around 667 miles per month and 167 per week (give or take 1 mile). Even high-mileage business EV customers covering 25,000 per annum would only be covering 2084 miles per month and 520 per week. So where does this 300 - 400 necessity come from?

We suspect that for early adopters - Nissan Leaf, Renault Zoe and Tesla Model S - in the 2016 to 2019 era, they probably didn’t enjoy the novelties and frivolities of pure electric driving. Quite frankly, these early concepts were not exactly workable in a modern motoring world; particularly one where charge point infrastructure was somewhat absent.

Quite quickly the pro-combustion segment of our industry scoffed at the proposition of zero-emission transport becoming workable and this was fed into our press and media. The ignition of EVs seemed to be washed away by conjecture and hearsay. Soundbites, which still exist today, were somewhat prevalent - “the range isn’t good enough” “there are not enough charge points” “the financial incentives for electric cars just isn’t good enough”.

But, in a clear watershed moment around 2019/20, Tesla released the seminal electric car … the Model 3. With a mix of range, charging speeds and performance (not to mention a robust charging infrastructure) almost all of the initial objections were quashed.

However, many manufacturers were a little slower to the battery-side of transport and instead of concentrating on the fundamental aspects - range, charging times and charging sessions - more investment was placed into aesthetics and ergonomics, with a whole host of luxury and performance options released.

And while this was necessary to bring credence and an attractive nature to BEVs, it didn’t really bring everything that was required to ensure a mass-market and wholesale approach could be undertaken. In reviewing the 2020 - 2023 era, it is fair to say that too many expensive EVs were produced (and which are now struggling to be re-sold at auctions throughout the UK within the used car industry). And the whole point of the actual car itself, the key range and charging components, have probably not been thoroughly considered. Plus, the way in which the figures have been presented soon became a new story in itself, as The Times have showcased.

Electric cars, not unlike your petrol or diesel option, can only travel as far as the energy allows. But the way in which many of us show this to the UK leasing customer has been to adopt the approach of combustion which is to release combined WLTP figures.

While WLTP was brought to clarify and refine the previous testing standard, NEDC, they have proved to be risky with EVs. Indeed, e-car lease completely overhauled our own data systems in 2021 to combat this exact issue. Fundamentally, we understood that weather, driving conditions and driving style was vastly influencing the range of an EV.

And with clear pressure, and high standards, being put in place for this new tech it was crucial that a lease customer received true, honest and accurate information for their new EV. In our unique electric car comparison tool , personal and fleet customers can quickly compare which car has the best range. But within in each entry, our system will set out how the EV will operate in city conditions and on motorways in both warm and colder weather.

Some EVs will have seismically different ranges depending on when and how they are operated. So the 20% analysis is not in itself untrue. The real issue is really just how we simply present this to a prospective customer.

But customers are not being misled through some conspiracy or malcontent. The new electric car industry is still relatively new, with many of us now setting clear standards for the rest of the market to follow.

While some manufacturers, and lease companies, are still adopting the WLTP and headline best-case scenarios, this is now under review with a litany of headlines questioning the efficacy and accuracy of the data. We appreciate that marketing and sales are important but we are transitioning to an era of Consumer Duty which is about us ensuring that this is being handled with due care, skill and diligence.

And pressure is now ensuring that brand-new EV customers are properly educated on their potential new venture. For example, a Tesla Model 3 Long Range (one of the finest EVs to buy or lease) can deliver a different performance based on the conditions and driving style employed as per the below:

What range can a Tesla Model 3 actually cover?

Will the new Fisker Ocean be the best EV for range in 2023?

And with a swathe of headlines on a new product, the Fisker Ocean  and its amazing ranges, it will be on the brand and their chosen partners to properly set out just how robust their data and experience is. For example , the manufacturer suggests on their homepage that ”up to 350 miles” is available with a Hyper Range Battery.

And in further support, automotive news outlets, autocar and autoexpress  are going as far as to say that a 440-mile WLTP test will be used as part of their marketing and branding in the UK . And while the Fisker Ocean Extreme is set to be an amazing EV, these headlines and marketing schemes do need to carefully handled as part of managing customer expectations.

The Fisker SUV Extreme will arrive in the UK later in 2023, between July and October, armed with a 100 kWh battery configuration that offers 410 kW (or 500hp), 0 - 62mph times of 3.9 seconds and 124mph top speeds. And in terms of “range” expect cold weather to offer 225 miles on motorways and 310 miles in city and urban conditions. However, in warmer weather this will improve to 285 miles and 455 mile respectively. Based on an average, this will mean some 315 miles on a full charge to the UK customer, which is more than enough for most.

The 11kW AC charging capability will allow 10 hours and 45 minutes 0 - 100% charging sessions with the 250 kW DC rapid charge capability providing 29 minutes sessions. The Fisker Ocean could be the perfect family SUV for 2023 leasing customers! 

Want to know more or just need expert advice on all things electric car lease? Just get in touch with our team